How the Zrinch Stole Christmas
by acochran5
Summary: It's almost Christmas and Natsu finds himself sad. Last Christmas his mother died and his brother had left, dropping off the face of the earth. But Natsu's not ready to give up on his family. Christmas was the holiday of miracles, and also of gifts, all kinds of gifts. So Natsu writes a letter to his hero, Santa Claus, hoping that it is enough to get his family back. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Here is another story. This is a Christmas one and since Christmas is one of my favorite holidays I decided to do a Christmas crossover staring the Fairytail characters as characters from The Grinch.**

 **Natsu stars as Cindy Lu**

 **Lucy/Erza/Gray star as best friends of Natsu**

 **Igneel stars as Natsu's father**

 **Mavis stars as Max**

 **Zeref stars as Grinch**

 **You will notice that this is based off more of the 2018 version than in 1966. That's because the new movie had more content and character development so you will see some pretty obvious similarities.**

 **Finally, Disclaimer: I do not own Fairytail or How the Grinch Stole Christmas.**

 **Now, onto the story!**

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It was Christmas time down in Fairyville, and all the Fairies were decorating their houses all around their tiny village beyond the hills. There were lights and garland and stockings and trees, presents and food and Christmas wreaths. And in one little house a child stood, staring through the trees and into the woods.

His father was out there chopping down a Christmas tree. Wrapped in scarves and coats and snow pants he chopped and chopped until the evergreen fell down with a thud. Then Natsu watched as his father hauled the tree into the house. "Here we are, son. A nice, full, green Christmas tree."

"Wow daddy, it's so green!" Natsu quickly hurried over and helped his father haul it into the living room. Then he helped his father stand the tree up before both of them moved back to take a look at it. "It's beautiful." Natsu whispered, his eyes twinkling with wonder. He hadn't thought that anything could be so beautiful. "Can we decorate it now?"

"Yes." Igneel said and opened the decorating box. Natsu loved to decorate with his father, it was one of his favorite things to do. Christmas was his favorite time of year, even if his entire family wasn't there anymore. Christmas had never been the same after his mom died and his brother left. Nothing ever would be the same again.

But he and his father made the best of it and celebrated just as merrily as they would every year. It was hard to move on and celebrate without them, but Natsu loved Christmas too much to dwell on sad things. "Is it okay?" Igneel as him.

"It's perfect." The young child replied, a huge toothy grin spreading across his face. So, they wrapped the lights and the garland, and the ornaments on the trees. Natsu took a few steps back after they were done, admiring his work. "I love it." And it wasn't the tree he loved, it was what it signified. "Do you think… do you think mommy likes it just as much as we do."

"Of course, honey. She loves it more than you'll ever know. She's watching over us, celebrating with us, just like she does every year." Igneel said.

"What about nii-chan. Is she watching over him?"

Igneel pursed his lips. It was no secret to Natsu that his father was mad at his brother for leaving them so shortly after her death. "Yes. She loves him too, she's celebrating with him too." Igneel smiled finally.

"What about you? Do you love nii-chan?" Igneel nodded, patting his son on the head.

"Of course."

Then Natsu smiled and continued to decorate the house with wreaths and lights. "I love Christmas." He said, stringing up more lights on the trees.

"It's the best time of the year." His father responded.

Once they were done decorating Natsu looked up at his father and said, "Let's put on the angel now." Igneel nodded and picked his son up, setting him on his shoulders so the tiny boy could reach the tippy top of the evergreen tree and place the angel right on top, front and center.

"That's a beautiful placement job." Igneel complimented, setting his boy down.

"I learned from you." Natsu said.

"Ha! That'd explain it. Now, why don't we go eat some dinner before you get up to bed. Only five days till Christmas after all." Natsu nodded so both he and his father ate some food before Natsu went upstairs to go to bed.

"Daddy… I've decided I'm going to write a letter to Santa Clause." His father was silent, blinking.

"But you haven't written to Santa Clause in a few years. You thought that he already knew what you wanted, and that's proven to be true." Igneel said.

"Yeah but, this Christmas wish is really special. It isn't something materialistic like a new skateboard. I'm worried that if I don't mail a letter to Santa Clause then he won't know what I really want."

"Um… alright, then, why don't you write a letter to Santa Clause first thing tomorrow morning and then we can mail it, how does that sound?"

"It sounds great, dad." Natsu said, smiling.

"Don't worry, honey. I know it's our first Christmas without them, but it's gonna be just as magical." Igneel patted Natsu's shoulder.

Natsu smiled slightly, nodding. "Yeah, I know dad… I know."

"Goodnight my little dragon."

"Night." Natsu said and rolled over, closing his eyes and falling asleep.

The next morning Natsu awoke to light pouring in from his bedroom window. Natsu squinted and sat up, yawning before hopping out of bed and running quickly down the stairs to the kitchen where he grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper before parking himself at the dining room table, writing a letter to Santa Clause.

"Writing your letter to Santa Clause?" Natsu jumped when hearing a voice behind him.

"Yeah dad, I am. Can I mail it to the North pole?" he asked, sealing the envelop and slapping a stamp on it.

"Yes, sweetie. Go mail it." Igneel said.

"Can I play with my friends too?" Igneel nodded, shooing him out of the house.

"Yes, yes, go on!"

So, Natsu ran off into Fairyville where he could catch the mailman and give him his letter. Everywhere he turned there were trees and wreaths. Everywhere, everyone was setting up for Christmas, and they greeted him as he ran through the snow. "Hey Natsu!"

"Hi Mira!" Natsu cried waving. The older girl smiled and asked,

"Where're you going?"

"I'm gonna mail this letter to Santa!"

"Well good luck!" she called.

"Thanks!" Natsu cried and kept running. He had to hurry if he was going to reach the mailman in time to deliver his letter.

As he was running Natsu placed his foot on a slick piece of snow and his feet slid out from under him. "AH!" Natsu cried out as he kept sliding on the snow.

Natsu tried to regain his balance, ice-skating around the town of Fairyville, trying not to fall. Several people had already dived out of the way of his pursuit. "Hey, Mr.!" Natsu yelled as he slid towards a man, wrapped in scarves and coats. Black hair protruded from his hood and his eyes were covered from ski glasses. "Watch out!" he cried, trying to slide out of the way but unable to. The man looked up, Natsu could almost see the shock on his face. The man cried out and threw his hands up before Natsu barreled right into him. Natsu groaned before slowly looking up.

"Watch where you're going." He said, standing up and brushing himself off. Natsu blushed from embarrassment at his own clumsiness and said,

"I'm sorry Mr. I'll be more careful next time."

The man stared at him for a while longer before simply nodding and walking onward. Natsu blinked as he stared after him. He thought that the way the man had been acting was rather strange, but he shrugged it off and kept walking merrily to see the mailman just one block ahead.

As he was walking, he met some of his friends on the way. In fact, he saw his best friend. Natsu smiled, waving and ran over to her. "Hey, Natsu." Lucy said, smiling and hugging him. "I haven't seen you in a little while, how're you doing?"

"I'm fine, Luce! In fact, I'm better than fine. I've decided what I'm going to ask Santa for Christmas his year!"  
"Oh really, what're you going to ask him?" Lucy asked, pretty brown eyes twinkling with excitement.

"Oh um, I don't really want to say. It's kind of silly and I know that he probably won't be able to get it but… I'm going to try anyway!"

"Well, even if you can't tell me, I hope you get what you ask for."

"Thanks Lucy, you're the best." Natsu said, smiling.

Then he heard a voice behind him, hands covering his eyes. "Guess who."

"Uh, it's Erza right?" Natsu said. Erza giggled lightly and removed her hands, smirking.

"Good job, flame brain, maybe you aren't a total idiot after all." Gray said, coming up behind Erza. Natsu rolled his eyes as Gray put some money into Erza's hand.

"I told you he would guess it was me."

"Meh, whatever." Gray said shrugging. "So, how are you Natsu?" They all knew that this was the first Christmas without his mom and brother.

"You know… it's hard, sure but… they've just been gone for such a long time, that this hardly seems any different than any other day. Besides, mom's still celebrating with us even if we can't see her. And my brother, well… he's out there too. And he'll have a great Christmas." Natsu said, grinning.

"I'm sure he will." Lucy said, grabbing Natsu's hand. "Come on, you said you were gonna mail that letter, right?"

"Oh yeah! Thanks for reminding me. Come on guys!"

So, the four children hurried down main street to where the mailman was taking letters out of mailboxes. "Hey!" Natsu cried, hurrying up to him.

"Yeah, what?" Macao asked, glancing down at the four children. Natsu thrust his letter out at the mailman, grinning widely.

"This is my letter to Santa can you make sure it gets to the North Pole for me?"

"Uh, sure, Natsu. I'll get this letter to the North Pole lickity split!"

"Thank you, Macao!" Natsu cried and waved goodbye as Macao rode off in his car. "I'm happy." Natsu said. "Even though this holiday won't be the same, it'll still be the best."

"I know." Lucy said. "Believe me, it wasn't easy after my mom died. It's still hard, but it gets better." Natsu nodded.

"Yeah, when my parents died and Aunt Ur took me in, I was kind of in a bad emotional state, but now, we can still celebrate Christmas happily!"

"And after my dad died my mom and I were heartbroken, but we learned to live each day without him. We have to keep living, that's just the way of the world."

"Yeah…" Natsu said nodding. "I know you guys have all lost people but… nobody in your family has left you by choice. I feel like I wasn't good enough for him. That the only reason he stayed was because mom was there."

"Nonsense, Natsu. You were his favorite person in the world." Lucy said. "He's just sad like you and Mr. Dragneel. He still loves you, he just needs some alone time to adjust. He'll come back, I know he will, I can feel it." Lucy said smiling. Erza nodded in agreement.

"Well, I have to get back to helping mom decorate, but I can play later with you guys." Erza told them.

"Well, I have to bake cookies at home too. My dad's hopeless." Lucy said, giggling. "But I can play later too!"

Then, the girls left leaving Natsu and Gray alone on the curb. "Listen Natsu…" Gray said, staring at the snow. "I know that the girls told you that he would come back, but you have to know that… sometimes, people don't come back." Gray's eyes had dulled slightly as if he didn't see anything that was in front of him. "Sometimes people leave, and they stay gone. Not everybody comes back, not everybody loves you as much as you think they do."

"Is this about Lyon? He said he was going away for a while Gray, but he'll be back."

"No, he won't." Gray said bitterly, his eyes clouding over. "Lyon just sent us a letter. He got a girlfriend, her name's Merudy, they live in a big city, own an apartment, and a cat. They're gonna get married, he's never coming home."

"Gray, he'll visit." Natsu said.

"Natsu, he's been gone for over five years, over half my life. If he hasn't come back yet, then he's never going to." Gray said. "I'm just warning you. It's good to have hope, but not too much. Or reality will come to keep you in check."

"Gray, he'll come back, he's just busy."

"Aunt Ur has been singing the same toon for over five years. Every Christmas she tells me he'll come back next year, well guess what, he never did. And he's never going to and even if he did all I'd want to do is sucker punch him."

"Well me and my nii-chan don't have that relationship!"

"Well, neither did Lyon and I. But relationships change, Natsu. People you used to love can become somebody you'd never recognize, no matter how long you look. And not everyone comes back. You can believe what you'd like Natsu, but as your friend I'm telling you the reality of the situation. He might not come back. That's just how it is." Gray shrugged.

"NO! He'll come back, and we'll all be together again!" Natsu shouted. Gray stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked slowly in the direction of his house.

"I truly hope he does, I truly hope he comes back because you want him to but sometimes… sometimes what we want changes as you grow older. I hoped Lyon would come back a long time ago, I was wrong, but for just this once, I hope your right." After a few more minutes of walking Gray disappeared behind the corner of another house, leaving Natsu to stare after him, eyes wide and confused hoping that he was right as well.

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 **A/N Here it is. I'm not sure where this is going but I plan for it not to be long. Maybe five chapters give or take a few. This might take a while and I can't guarantee it will be done by Christmas, but it will get done. I'm going to separate the chapters by days since there's only five days left till Christmas (in this story). This was Day 1, next chapter will be Day 2. You might also have noticed that the first paragraph was full of rhyming. I planned for the first paragraph of each chapter rhyme so that's what I'm going to do even if it sucks. Anyway, I apologize for any mistakes and reviews/favorites/follows encourage me to update faster, so if you like this drop a review/favorite/follow. Thank you for reading, Bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

Now, not so far away, hidden on the top of a hill just outside of Fairyville, a figure stood so very still. For while the fairies loved Christmas a lot, this figure on the hill certainly did not. Christmas had taken something precious from this boy. So, he'd take it right back, even if it meant he destroyed. His name was quite known, it made people frown and groan. His name brought both disgust and horror, it made people flinch. For all these people called him the Zrinch.

That was not his real name, but he went with it. His real name was Zeref, however nobody knew that anymore.

Zeref sighed, finally getting back from Fairyville. He had been very much opposed to going into town, but it wasn't like he had a choice. He had to get the supplies necessary to last him for a while. Zeref didn't like to visit the village. Not unless he had to. "Mavis, I'm home." Zeref said quietly, gently closing his front door behind him.

He lived in a cave of sorts, he supposed, but he'd added a door to keep out the cold. Mavis came bounding up to him, wagging her tail, green eyes overjoyed to see him. Zeref patted her on the head before storing all his food away in a small chest.

When he was done with that Zeref went to his desk and sat down. "I saw him today." He told Mavis. "I suppose he hasn't changed much… he didn't recognize me, but that's to be expected. It's hard to think that it's already been a year…" Zeref clenched his fists and glared at a singular dent in the wood of his desk.

Zeref had left his family one year ago, after his mother's death, simply unable to believe that such a thing could happen. At that time of year too. Christmas was supposed to be happy, but when Zeref thought about it, all he could feel was disgust.

Zeref sighed and opened one of his drawers where a pile of notebooks lay, perfectly stacked on top of each other. Grabbing the top and opening it, Zeref flipped to a blank page and stared at it blankly for a long while, unable to come up with any devious schemes. Most of his plans were never carried out, but Zeref very much enjoyed conspiring methods to make others miserable. It was a sick hobby, but Zeref wasn't about to deny himself pleasure.

"Why can't I think of anything. Normally, I'd have at least 10 ideas running through my head right now. Why can't I outline any of them?" Mavis didn't answer, curled up beside him, and closed her eyes. Zeref sometimes forgot that Mavis was only a dog and couldn't answer his questions. She was the only living thing he talked to, so he supposed it was only natural for him to ask a few questions once in a while.

So Zeref eventually ignored the notebook and all hopes of coming up with a plan and simply stared at the wall in front of him. Zeref didn't really have anything interesting going on in his life, he never really did. So, That was why Zeref never really left his cave. Nothing interesting ever happened.

Zeref wondered sometimes why he did this to himself. He could very easily go home. At this time of year, it was likely his family was to be even more accepting than they usually were. But, Zeref didn't want to go home. Despite having nothing to do, despite living his days in solitude, despite the fact that his best friend was a small yellow dog, Zeref was relatively happy. He was satisfied with the life he lived as some sort of hermit. Zeref had never been good with people, no one had ever shied from telling him what they thought. He found that most of the things people thought about him were not good things. He honestly didn't know why people disliked him. He knew he was socially awkward, but that couldn't be it, could it?

Contrary to what Zeref knew his family thought, Zeref had not left because he was heartbroken over his mother's death. He was heartbroken, and he despised Christmas because it signified life the week she died. But her death wasn't why he had left.

He'd left because he couldn't stand acting like everything was okay when it wasn't. He knew his family had moved on, like everything was alright when she was gone. That was what they always did. And Zeref grew tired of having to pretend he was okay with everything, of pretending he was happy. That was why. He didn't plan on returning to that life, and if he did ever speak to his family again then the conversation would probably not end well. Knowing his father, Igneel would give him an entire lecture on the irresponsibility of leaving in a time of crisis.

Zeref didn't agree. Or perhaps it was better to say that he just didn't care. Zeref had honestly never liked his father. He'd always get blamed for almost everything when his father was around, even things that weren't his fault. It had been very obvious to Zeref that Natsu was his father's favorite son.

In the end his only regret had been leaving Natsu to deal with the loss of his mother alone. But really, Zeref had felt he didn't have much of a choice. He'd had to leave, as soon as it happened. If he'd stayed, he would've stayed forever and Zeref had always known that a life in Fairyville would never make him happy.

Now, sitting alone in this cave didn't make him happy either, but at least here he could do what he pleased without his father breathing down the back of his neck.

Christmas had taken his mother, but it had also been the push he needed to leave. Zeref wasn't sure if he should be mad or not… he just wasn't sure. But what he was sure of was that deep, in the darkest depths of his mind a scheme was finally formulating. The idea made Zeref clutch his pen even harder. It was the most devious scheme he had ever come up with. "But how do I do it, Mavis?" he wondered, tapping his chin. The idea was original, probably never thought of. It was a horrendous, evil idea, and Zeref loved it. "I think I know what to do now, Mavis."  
His canine friend perked up her greens eyes laced with concern. She might not have been a human, but she had been with Zeref long enough to know that she should be weary of the tone he was taking. "I should steal Christmas. It's perfect. I might not hate Christmas itself, though that has a lot to do with it. What I do hate most in the world are those Fairy-folk. They took my happiness, I believe it's time I returned the favor. Besides, it's a perfectly logical plan. If Santa can give the whole world presents in one night, then I should certainly be able to steal all the decorations and presents from one tiny village. You believe in me, right?"

Zeref turned to Mavis, his eyes questioning. Mavis gave one bark and nuzzled his hand to gain his affections. Zeref complied and sighed, "What am I saying, of course you believe in me. I feed you every day after all, what's there not to believe in, huh?" Zeref chuckled. "I suppose I can't count on you to talk me out of it, you are only a dog. Now then, the only problem is in the plan itself. Santa Claus is a magical being. It would be false to say that he can deliver presents without magic… and there's also the problem of what would happen if I was miraculously caught." Zeref was silent for several moments. "Perhaps I could dress as Santa Claus… if someone saw me taking a present, then perhaps they would only think that I was putting one down… yes, that could work. Now, how do I carry all the packages… if I'm posing as Santa the logical conclusion would be a sleigh, and you know, Mavis, Sleighs need reindeer."

Mavis didn't respond to him, of course she didn't. "But where do I get a reindeer? It would be rather troublesome to get a real one. But how do I get a fake? There isn't an animal in sight… that… could." Zeref's eyes landed on the dog cuddled up in his arms. "… Maybe you could…" Mavis barked at him and Zeref sighed, "You're right it would be completely illogical for you to be able to pull the sleigh. You're only a dog, you couldn't pull that. Plus, you're lazy." Zeref grumbled. "So, I suppose that means I will have to find a better solution." Zeref had come to a real roadblock in his plan, but no matter. He would find a way around it.

"What do you think, Mavis, should we sleep on it." Mavis stared at him blankly. "… You're right, you always are." Zeref patted her on the head before leaving the "office".

The next morning Zeref started getting to work on his plans, taking out the notebook, and preparing for the biggest scheme of his life. This time, he planned to execute this scheme, the only problem was though, that he only had 4 days left until Christmas. So, he had to work fast.

Thankfully he was a hermit, that lived in a cave, with nothing better to do. So, basically, he could spend this entire half week planning to steal Christmas. It was so diabolical, so devious, and the best part is that it would teach those fairies a lesson or two about what it meant when you ignored him.

That seemed like a childish reason, even to Zeref, but it was never the less, true. They'd made him feel like nothing, like he wasn't good enough, even if it hadn't been their intention it had still happened, and that made Zeref angry. Another perk about being a hermit. He had a lot of time to sit and think about how unhappy he was. It had honestly never even occurred to him to talk to the fairies about how they made him feel. Well, it had never occurred to him before, but as he was jotting down ways of where to find a big animal to pull his sleigh, it occurred to him now.

"You know, Mavis, perhaps I should simply… talk to them before trying to steal Christmas?" Zeref waited for her response only to realize, once again, that he was only talking to a dog incapable of intelligent conversation. Regardless, she yawned, and he took it as an answer. "You know, I think that you are positively right. That would be rather tiring, wouldn't it? Besides, I'm the Zrinch! I make schemes and I execute my plans, and I make others feel as miserable as me!"

He sounded crazy, even to himself. But the only problem with that was that he didn't care.

After a while Zeref groaned and banged his head on the table, "Mathematically, it's impossible for me to steal Christmas in a single night." He stated glumly after several calculations. "After all, there are over 600 houses in Fairyville… I'd start at midnight, to make sure most of the fairies are in bed. And everyone will be waking up early to open Christmas presents. If I assume that the earliest will be 6:00 that only gives us 6 hours to steal Christmas. That means that each house would have to be completely looted in about 5 minutes!" It wasn't humanly possible! Zeref threw his pencil on the desk and stood up. Mavis jumped at his outburst, seemed to glare at him, and then promptly pranced away. "Ah, don't walk away!" Zeref shouted and then growled, running his fingers through his hair. "I feed you!" he added angrily, pointing at her. Mavis ignored him and disappeared around the corner. Zeref scowled and looked back at his notebook. "I suppose, that the more accurate depiction would be that it isn't humanly possible to do it by yourself. But who on Earth would be willing to help me? Mavis could pull the bags to the slay, I could find a reindeer… somehow. Is that enough? If there's three people helping, then I'd have just a little over twelve minutes to loot the houses…" then he remembered something important. The "people" weren't really people at all, they were animals. Zeref sighed and said, "I've been in this cave for far too long."

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 **A/N Here's the second chapter... I really have no idea what to do next. Other than what is written I don't really have any ideas for this story. So, if any of you have an idea of what to do next PLEASE tell me. I'd be more than happy to listen to your suggestions. I'm really having problems with this story and I think it might be because I feel limited to follow the Grinch's story line. So, if you have any ideas again, I would be happy if you would tell me. Thanks for reading reviews/favorites/follows are appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3

His plan was almost perfect, and he had time to spare. It would be Christmas in three days, and Zeref thought, nothing could compare to this. Nothing.

"This is a rather childish endeavor, isn't it Mavis." Zeref said, wrapping a scarf around his neck. He was preparing to leave to go find a reindeer. It would be almost impossible to pull this off, but Zeref, in the end, was determined. The only problem was, even if he did pull this off, what then? What would he do after that? Watch the fairies wallow in self-pity and despair? He supposed that would be rather satisfying for a time, but soon after he would grow bored. And what was the point of stealing Christmas when nobody would know it was him? What was the point of pulling off the most devious scheme in the world, if no one but Mavis knew he had?

This caused Zeref to pause with his hand on the doorknob. Mavis was wagging her tail, excited for a chance to go outside. "It's the principle of the action, Mavis." He told her. "Even if no one but me knows it… I know it, and so that is enough." Mavis barked once and Zeref flung open the door. She bounded outside, panting and rolling in the snow.

Zeref couldn't help but chuckle at her antics. She was always excited, and it made him happy, knowing that he made her happy. Even if she was only a dog. "Come on now, let's get going."

So, Zeref started walking down the mountain, Mavis at his heels. "Where does one even look for a reindeer?" he wondered aloud. "I mean… even if I did find one, how would I go about… getting it?"

Zeref started to seriously wish there was another human being around because Mavis just barked and ran around in circles. "Come on, Mavis, get serious. Now then, assuming I'm the villain in this scenario this is the point in the plot where I get a brilliant idea that causes the hero of this scenario to act quickly before all is lost." Mavis didn't even bark this time and just stared at him with her soulful eyes. "… You know, I wonder how long it takes to suddenly come up with a genius plan… do you think maybe I should actually think?" Mavis tilted her head. "Yes, I know it's obvious Mavis, you don't have to rub it in." Zeref grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Now then, to grab a reindeer I will need, a very, very tight rope!" Zeref looked at Mavis for approval and found that his own dog was looking at him like he was stupid. "Don't give me that look!" he cried, glaring at her. Mavis seemingly rolled her eyes. "Well, Miss Smarty Pants. What do you suggest?"

Zeref got on his hands and knees, even in the snow and leaned in close to her. Mavis stared at him wide-eyed. Her eyes almost seemed intelligent. "Aw, yes, you're right as always." Zeref said, standing up and brushing snow off his now wet pants. "I will need a sedative." Zeref turned to her and giggled almost insanely. "I'm going to drug a reindeer."

Mavis looked at him like he was completely off his rocker. Zeref smoothed his hair back before thinking of another problem with this plan. "But then again…" he grumbled. "I don't have any darts… or a gun to shoot the darts… or sedatives."

Mavis barked happily, already knowing what his words meant despite only being there for comedy relief. "Fine… I'll go into town, but only because it's the only way that I can think of right now. And I don't have time to think of another way considering Christmas is right around the corner." Zeref stuffed his hands into his pockets to make sure he had his wallet. "Come now, Mavis, let us walk." Zeref said pleasantly, before trudging down the mountain into Fairyville. "You know…" he said after a few steps. "We could always forget this ever happened, right?" Mavis paused in the snow and cocked her head, looking at him all confused and cute-like. "I can never think when you're around. Go on ahead, you're being too cute and cuddleable." Cuddleable was not a word but Zeref did not care.

Mavis would've shrugged if dogs could shrug and prattled off to do God knows what. "We can't forget…" he looked around the frozen mountain and realized he was now alone. He didn't have to talk aloud anymore since there was truly no one to talk to anymore. No one but himself and talking to himself would just be pure insanity. "I can't forget." He whispered. He'd already thought of the plan, there was no going back anymore. He would go to town, get the sedatives, get the reindeer, make the costume, ride to town, steal Christmas, ride back home and watch the fairies wallow in despair.

Was that really too much to ask?

"Anyway," he grumbled to himself and started traipsing through the store into town. "Hurry up, Mavis." He snapped, "Or I'll leave you behind."

Mavis barked and tried to run as quickly through the snow as she could, which turned out to be difficult because she was up to her neck in the white stuff.

Zeref rolled his eyes and picked her up, "You're a bucket load of trouble, do you know that?" Mavis looked at him with what he assumed was supposed to be an apologetic look, but it ended up making her look like she was mocking him.

When he got to town, as always, there was so much decoration and Christmas things that Zeref ended up being completely disgusted. Everything was too bright and too colorful, and random strangers were shouting things like, "Merry Christmas!" at him. Zeref wanted to gag, because if they knew who he was, they'd ignore him like all those other years.

"People are all the same, indecisive." He whispered to Mavis. "You love me unconditionally." Mavis, as if to agree, flicked out her tongue and licked his cheek.

Zeref laughed softly, pulling away a little. Obviously, he'd gotten too close. "Mavis, you know your not supposed to do that." But Mavis ignored him under most circumstances, so to be honest, Zeref wasn't all too surprised.

Zeref hunched himself forward, trying to make himself as small as possible. He didn't want too many people talking to him. If they talked for too long, someone might recognize him for who he really was, then there'd be all sorts of problems. Suddenly, people would be paying attention to him, and suddenly they would start either talking to him or completely ignoring him. Either was painful. Zeref was anti-social so he didn't want people to start talking to him, especially not in large groups, but he didn't want everyone to ignore him either. That would mean that they still thought…

Mavis's warm body kept him from thinking too much about that, and Zeref didn't care too much for thoughts on his past so he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before walking into one of the stores.

It was a weapons store so there was a little bit of everything, everywhere. "What can I do for you, sir?" asked the little old man behind the counter. Zeref recognized him as Makarov. Zeref had always seen him around the village and met him specifically when his father had taken him here to get some gear before they went hunting for the first time. In the end, Zeref absolutely hated it. Watching as the life drained from those poor animals' eyes made him shiver, and it hadn't been from the cold either. That was the start where he and his father started drifting apart. Igneel and him just didn't like any of the same things. In the end they'd only had one thing in common and that was the love for his mother, it was what had kept Zeref together.

Natsu, on the other hand, loved the outdoors. Even if he wasn't old enough to go hunting, he still went with his father to the store every year and Igneel told him, once he was old enough, that he'd take him too.

* * *

 **Memory**

"Nii-chan." Natsu had said one afternoon. Their father had already left to go on his hunting trip for the year and his mother was at the store buying some last-minute groceries for supper. Zeref had offered to go with her, but his mother had told him to stay with Natsu, and that she could go on her own. "You're old enough to go hunting with daddy. How come you don't go?"

"Because I don't like it. It turns out that father and I just don't travel well together."

"You're mad at each other?" Natsu whispered, his eyes widening. Zeref looked away,

"No, we aren't mad, just distant. Father and I... we just can't be alone together for too long."

"How come?"  
"We argue, Natsu. We don't have the same outlook on life. When we argue, we argue a lot. And when there's no one to stop us… both of us are too stubborn to walk away so, in the end… sometimes angers flare and we don't always walk out unscathed."

"So, is that why you two had black eyes for a while and wouldn't talk to each other?"

Zeref nodded. "Yes, Natsu." He said, smiling sadly. "It's just who we are, it cannot be changed."

"People change all the time. Just yesterday, I learned that it is not healthy to eat stuff off the ground. So, I don't! See, change!"

Zeref chuckled softly, "What I mean, Natsu, is that we don't change our traits. I will never be okay with killing animals, I know I will never be dad's favorite, I know that we will never get along… Natsu, what you're speaking of is learning. You've learned not to eat stuff off the floor. I'm talking about change."

"Will… will I change?"  
"No, not really. Your interests will change and you're still developing but there will come a time… there will come a time when you're all grown."

"Will I still change?"

"I don't know." Zeref said, picking the little boy and placing him on his lap. "If you change… you will have to want it. You will have to want it very badly."

"Don't you want to change? So that you get along with daddy?"

"No, my little dragon. I do not wish to change. And I suppose you've brought up another valid point. Not only do you have to wish to change, but you have to want to change because you want it, not because someone else wills you to do that."

Natsu tilted his head in confusion. "You will understand one day." Zeref assured him. An answer at which Natsu huffed. He hated being told that he would understand one day. He wanted to understand now! But Natsu could only scowl at his older brother and cross his arms.

"How come adults always say that when they don't know the answer!" Natsu complained making Zeref's smile widen. He shrugged and said,

"Yeah, that sucks, huh."

Natsu nodded, still glaring. "Yeah, it does." He said plainly. Zeref laughed,

"Why don't we set the table. Mom will be glad."

"Yeah!" so Zeref stood up, setting Natsu back on the floor. "You get the plates, I'll get the silverware." Natsu smiled and nodded, hopping up to get started on those dishes.

Soon, the table was set, and the two brothers just waited around the house, playing a few games, and awaiting their mother's return. After about an hour Zeref started worrying, but he tried to not let it show on his face. Natsu was already becoming anxious and Zeref was really just trying to calm himself down so he could keep Natsu calm. "Maybe I should go look for her…" Zeref mumbled softly

"N-no, don't leave me here!" Natsu cried, turning to him with a tearful gaze. Zeref sighed and nodded. There was no leaving his very young brother in the house by himself. Who knew what the boy would break while he was away? And Natsu couldn't go with him, because if something had happened, Zeref did not want Natsu there to see it."

"Okay, I won't leave you here." Zeref said. Natsu sighed in relief and plopped back down on the sofa. So, Zeref sat and he waited. He waited and waited. He waited when he heard the sirens, he waited when he heard they were headed toward the grocery store, he waited. He waited because he knew there was no point in moving. Natsu needed him here, so he wouldn't go anywhere else. He waited until the door opened. Natsu's face instantly lit up and he ran over to the door happily. Their father was in the doorway, his face grave.

"You're early!" Natsu cried, happy his daddy was back so soon. Zeref stared at his father's face and knew instantly that something had happened to their mother. Father didn't just cancel hunting trips. There had to be an emergency to come home.

"Father… where's mom?" Zeref asked, worriedly, not sure if he wanted to know the answer. No, knowing he didn't want to know the answer. Igneel's eyes were glazed and he motioned for Zeref to come forward.

Zeref hesitantly did so, walking up to his father. "Yeah, daddy, where's mommy?" Natsu wondered. Igneel grabbed Natsu and picked him up, holding him with one arm against his chest. The other grabbed Zeref's shoulder once he got close enough and pulled him to his body in some form of half hug.

Zeref's father never hugged him. Not since Zeref had been about six years old. So, Zeref felt his heart, sinking more and more to the point where he started to tremble. "She's gone." He whispered, his grip around his boys tightening.

"G-gone…" Zeref whispered, glancing at his father, hoping that this was some form of an incredibly cruel prank.

"Who's gone?" Natsu asked, looking around. "Oh yeah, mommy's gone. She just went to the store. She'll be back soon." Natsu looked into their eyes and knew something was wrong. Zeref seemed to collapse on Igneel, who sunk to the ground, holding them. "What's going on?" Natsu knew something was terribly wrong.

Then, all of a sudden, the words Igneel had spoken clicked. "Oh… you mean gone." He whispered quietly. Natsu quietly hoped his deduction was wrong, but from the choked sobs making their way out his brother's throat his theory was doubtlessly correct. Natsu couldn't help it and burst into tears as well. His brother was crying, and his mommy was never coming back. Igneel let a few tears of his own slide down his face.

"Where did she go?" Natsu asked quietly. Igneel wanted to smile reassuringly at his son, but he couldn't manage it.

"Somewhere better." He sobbed quietly, hoping that this was correct.

"What happened?" Zeref asked, glancing up at Igneel.

"Car crash, nasty one. They say she died instantly." Igneel said, not even bothering to sensor the word, "die" anymore.

"When's mommy coming back?" Natsu whimpered. Igneel stared at his son and realized that the talk about death was long overdue.

"She's not coming back." Zeref spat carelessly.

"Zeref…" Igneel growled.

"It's true!" he screamed. "She's never… never…" Zeref's fingers curled into fists and he broke into another round of sobs which made Natsu cry even louder.

"Shh, it'll be alright." Igneel said quietly. "We'll be okay." Igneel could only hope that this was true.

So, after countless hours of sobbing and gut-wrenching grief both boys were asleep and only Igneel remained in the conscious world. Both were on the couch, entangled in each other's arms, neither wishing to be alone. Igneel decided that later, he'd take them up to his room and they could sleep in the same room for a couple nights. Natsu was easy to move and Igneel simply carried him upstairs. Zeref was a little heavier, but Igneel could still carry him. Despite Zeref being nearly full grown Igneel couldn't help but notice how small he looked in that moment. "Father…" Zeref mumbled, opening his eyes slightly. Igneel gulped and looked down at him,

"Yes?" he asked. Zeref shook his head and rested it on Igneel's chest. "She's gone forever, isn't she? This is for real." Igneel closed his eyes to prevent the tears from coming.

"Yes, my son, it's real."

"I know." Zeref whispered. "Father, do you love me?"

"Of course." Igneel said. "Why would you even ask such a silly question?"

"I don't know. I just think you love Natsu more." Igneel rolled his eyes.

"Well, sure we get along better, but I love you both with all my heart. You two are the most precious things in the world to me."

"And, no matter what we do, that will never change?"

"Never."

Zeref smiled slightly, "Thank you father, I feel better now." He said. Igneel smiled back and carried his son up the rest of the way, setting him beside Natsu.

"Of course, my son. Anytime. I will always love the two of you, no matter what. Your mother gave birth to you two. And I loved her unconditionally. You're now all that's left of her. You're my two precious little boys. I can't believe you even had to ask." Igneel shook his head, kissing their foreheads and laid down beside his sons thinking about what Zeref had said, and hoping he'd be a good single parent.

 _I don't know I just think you love Natsu more than me._

 _You two are the most precious things in the world to me._

 _And that will never change?_

 _Never._

The next morning, Zeref was gone.

* * *

 **A/N I'm sorry this update has taken a while! I was really stuck for a while! Sorry this chapter is a little sadder, but I think that there will be maybe only one more chapter as sad as this one. The others will be nice and fluffy! Thank you to those who have supported this story and the next update might take even longer and this definitely won't be done by Christmas (I didn't think it would be) but this will get done rest assured. With this last chapter I've gained some momentum and am now more motivated to continue this story. I will be updating all my other stories listed as in-progress, today so keep those updates in mind. As always reviews/favorites/follows are motivational for me! So, feel free to tell me what you think! Bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

Zeref remembered that day very well, almost like it was yesterday. He could still remember going away… far away.

It had been a year ago, sure, but just the thought brought tears to his eyes. Maybe he shouldn't have left, maybe he should've stayed and pretended even if it was pretend… at least then there would've been people to talk to. Zeref had tried to make a life for himself elsewhere. But nobody understood. He was constantly ridiculed for not being able to make conversation and known to be extremely unlucky. Zeref knew luck did not really exist and that these were just coincidences, but it still hurt to be called such things. Devil, demon, people avoided him like the plague but that had been alright, for a while.

But even he got tired of such name-calling. So, he'd left and made a home for himself in the mountains meeting Mavis along the way. She'd been abandoned, and nobody wanted her. In many ways, Zeref had felt the same. So now they were alone together and loved each other unconditionally. Zeref brought her food and petted her, and Mavis simply sat there, being Mavis. And while the completely one-sided conversations got lonely, in many ways Zeref was glad that Mavis could not speak.

Like the old saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." The saying had instilled confidence in him and he tried not to let them hurt, he really did, but in the end he couldn't. That saying was wrong. Words did hurt, just in different places.

Zeref sighed as he looked around the shop, smiling people walking past the shop windows, such a happy town should not be allowed to exist. Not when others were so miserable. When Zeref left the weapons store with his rope, gun, and sedatives, and he decided to go wrangle some reindeer. How hard could it be.

He found out the hard way, that humans could not run as fast as reindeer and almost instantly lost them when chasing. Except for one tiny reindeer. Much smaller then the others, Zeref could see it was young, yet in their haste to escape, no one had given the tiny reindeer the time of day and had barreled right over her. "Despicable." Zeref grumbled. It didn't run and, in many ways, Zeref could see the reindeer was similar to Mavis. Intelligent eyes stared back at him and it stayed right where it was.

In fact, it started walking over to him, or rather Mavis after a few minutes. Mavis barked at the larger creature and padded around it in the snow.

Zeref contemplated whether he should tie the creature up and sedate it or not. It seemed rather rude and cruel but…

So, he slipped the rope over the reindeers neck loosely and guided it along, deciding to use the sedatives for something else. "You deserve a name, don't you… what about Beth." He glanced at Mavis who turned up her nose and the tiny reindeer seemed to make an expression of distaste, though Zeref was not sure how. "I know, Kimmy!"

He got the same reaction. "Oh, come on, Kimmy is a very respectable name!" they didn't seem to change their mind.

"Hm… Debby, Natalie… are you a guy? Is that why you don't like these?" it seemed weird that the tiny reindeer would be male but from the look of disbelief that flashed across the reindeer's face, Zeref did not think this was the case. "Karen? Uh, Lilith, that's beautiful! Not a reindeer name, but beautiful!" there was no reaction. "What about Zera?" Mavis gave him a look that said she didn't care, and the reindeer didn't look appalled. "Zera it is." He decided, honestly unsure of where that name came from, but not caring in the slightest. Then, he dragged Zera up the rest of the way to their home up on the mountain. "This is our home. This is where you'll live."

Zera did not seem impressed with the cave but went inside all the same. "Are you going in?" Zeref asked Mavis. The dog seemed to roll her eyes and go in, though that wasn't possible. Zeref thought he must be so lonely that he was now making up facial expressions for animals.

Zeref shut the door behind him and went back into his study where his check list for stealing Christmas lay.

Zeref's List on How to Steal Christmas

1\. Be smart and figure out you need to steal Christmas

2\. Be smart so you can pull it off.

3\. Be smart so you realize you need to dress up as Santa Claus.

4\. Be smart so you realize you need a sleigh to carry everything.

5\. Be smart so you realize you need a reindeer to pull the sleigh.

6\. Wait till Christmas Eve (you have to be smart and patient for this)

7\. Be smart and get lots of bags and load them into the sleigh.

8\. Be smart and actually steal Christmas.

9\. You've stolen Christmas, congratulations! Now be smart and repeat next year.

And that was Zeref's list on how to steal Christmas. It was a long process, but he was half way through. Now all he had to do was wait and steal Christmas (which was the easy part).

"I've already done the hard part, Mavis." Zeref said, smiling at her. "Now all I have to do is steal Christmas and everything will work our just fine."

Zeref stared out one of the windows installed in their little cave down at the little village below. There would be so many unhappy children tomorrow morning. For tonight was Christmas eve and tomorrow, Christmas. His brother would be included in that group of children. Zeref felt bad about that, would've left his brother's presents, except that would only make his family look bad in the village's eyes. Natsu's Christmas was likely already ruined thanks to him… if he had gone to check on his mother earlier, he might've prevented something awful. Zeref knew it wasn't his fault and no one had told him that it was, but he still couldn't help but feel that way.

Feel like it was his fault. No matter what Natsu or his father said. It made him feel guilty, and so did this. Maybe, he should've just gone home to visit for the holidays like a normal person, but Zeref wasn't a normal person. He was a lonely hermit living in a cave, he was entitled to be abnormal.

"As of tomorrow, I will officially be the first man ever to steal Christmas… I suppose I should get ready." The costume he'd bought in town looked as real as if he were the real thing.

"Fits like a glove, doesn't it?" Zeref said to the two after he'd gotten the costume on, "Doesn't it?" he asked again, more wildly that time, before remembering they were animals and could not answer him… in any way. "Fine, whatever. Mavis, Zera, let's go." Zeref said, marching out into the cold night air. Snow was falling in thick flakes up above him, covering his red clothes in white.

The sleigh he'd gotten in town was large and Zeref hooked the reindeer to the front of it, gently patting Zera. Then he hopped into the back with Mavis, setting down the several bags he'd brought along. He grinned wryly, his heart bursting with excitement and nervousness.

"I would say that I had eight tiny reindeer, but I only have one, and that shall have to be enough. Now then, hyaaa!" Zeref flicked the reins but the reindeer did not budge and stared at him, like trying to ask what the heck he thought he was doing. Zeref frowned at that and tried, "Giddyup!" but it did not move. Zeref, getting mad, hopped out and smacked the reindeer as hard as he could on the thigh.

That got the tiny reindeer moving and Zeref was barely able to dive into the sleigh before they were racing down the hill and into Fairyville.

* * *

 **A/N OMG! I knew I'd said it'd take a while but I didn't think it'd take this long. Anyway, for those of you that are still here, thank you so much for taking the time to read this. The new chapter will be out before next month, I promise. I only have two or three more chapters to go, but if it keep going at this pace I won't be done till April! Hopefully, this will be over by the end of January. My goal. But, my latest will be the end of February. Anyway, thank you guys, this has been the hardest story for me to make. I think that's partly because I have to follow a specific storyline and can't make my own which is limiting my creativity, making it harder for me to write. Regardless I had fun with this chapter and I hope you do too. I hope you enjoyed this, reviews/follows/favorites might get a chapter out of me quicker... but I'm not sure. Anyway, hopefully I will see you guys soon, bye!**


	5. Chapter 5

Down the hill the sled went, picking up speed. They wanted to get the job done, so they would be freed.

Zeref stood up on the sleigh, trying to see through the storm. He just wanted to be done with this. "Hurry up, go, go, go!"

The sled rode through the snow, down the mountain, picking up speed as it went along. Zeref could barely clutch the reins his hands were so frozen and cold.

Finally, they arrived in the village and Zeref turned to Mavis, hopping out of the sled. "Here we go. Here without a hitch." Zeref smirked. "Alright, I'll go inside, and load everything up, you carry everything out here and put it in the sleigh."

Zeref imagined that Mavis understood what he said, which she seemed to since she wagged her tail and ran around in circles. Zeref grabbed a bag and tiptoed into the first house and started to load everything up into his bag before tossing it to Mavis.

She didn't move. Zeref glared at her and tied a bone to the sleigh, just out of her reach so she couldn't get it even if she jumped. Mavis dragged the bag to the sleigh and then pulled it off herself so she could jump better.

Zeref moved from house to house like this, quietly calling Mavis over, giving her the bag, and when Mavis lost interest in him she would wander back to the sleigh. Zeref would have to pick up the bag and put it in the sleigh, but that only wasted a few seconds. Of course, every second mattered when in this business.

He stole Christmas from house after house, growing more tired after so many of them. Finally, he came to the final house, his house. Zeref frowned and crouched beside the house and quietly climbed his way to the top of the roof, sliding down the chimney.

Nothing but a few coal dust signaled his presence. He dusted himself off and started to loot the house for Christmas food and presents and the tree. He put them in sacks and unlocked the front door. He called softly to Mavis who bounded up to him again, trusting him to give her a treat every time no matter how many times she was disappointed.

He gave her the bag and then went on with stuffing more things into more bags as Mavis carried that one to the sleigh. Then, Zeref stepped in the wrong place and a creek sounded throughout the house. He flinched, looking around and listening for footsteps. But, he couldn't hear any so he continued with what he had been doing. "Santa?" a tiny voice behind him, made him freeze. There was only one child in this house to his knowledge and that child would surely recognize him if he turned around, red suit or not.

"Well ho ho ho little boy, what are you doing out of bed?"

"Why are you taking our things?" Natsu asked, frowning. Zeref knew Natsu must be giving him the puppy dog look. Quickly, he pulled his beard up and tried to look as un-Zeref-like as possible.

"Why, I'm taking your things because they broke." Zeref said, thinking up a lie quickly, surprising himself a little.

"Oh." Natsu looked instantly happier, making Zeref feel guilty for lying to him like this. "So, Santa, I was wondering. You can get me what I asked for in my letter, can't you?"

Zeref had no idea what Natsu would ask for, which saddened him a bit, but he simply nodded. "Yes, of course." Zeref said in a deep voice, guiding Natsu upstairs.

"Really?" Natsu looked hopeful as he whipped around to face him. "You can make my brother come home?" This made Zeref freeze.

"You want… your brother to come home?"

"Yeah." Natsu said. "You can make that happen, can't you?" Zeref was frozen,

"You want him back? I thought… I mean, why would you want that? Wouldn't a skate board be better?"

"No! I want my brother to come home! Gray said he probably won't come back but I know he's wrong because my brother isn't like Lyon! And he loves me! Right? He does doesn't he? You'd know, right Santa?"

"Yes, of course he loves you." Zeref said absentmindedly. Natsu's face broke out into a contagious grin.

"I knew it! And he's coming home?"

"… Yeah, kid. Of course he is." Zeref patted his brother on the shoulder and sent him back to bed. Zeref stood there for a few minutes thinking about what Natsu had said before numbly finishing up what he had started. It was almost morning and they needed to get out the village before anyone came up and saw him making off with everyone's presents.

Mavis dragged the last bag to the sleigh, and Zeref lifted it up. Then, he clambered in, dragging Mavis along with him and Zera started running out of town. Meanwhile, Zeref was thinking about Natsu, and what his leaving must've done to the boy.

He didn't often like to ponder about it, but still. It hurt, to know that Natsu had been hurting without him. Soon, they reached the top of the mountain where Zeref waited for everyone to wake up and realize what had happened.

Sure enough, soon, everyone was walking out of their houses and out into the streets. But, while Zeref couldn't see their expressions they air didn't feel as depressing as he thought it would. Well, at least down there. Up here, everything was always depressing, but there…

* * *

Natsu woke up and grinned, throwing off the covers. Last night Santa had confirmed that Natsu was getting his present. He quickly hopped out of bed and ran down stairs, not even noticing that everything was gone. "Zeref?" he cried, searching. "Zeref, are you here?"

Soon, his father came down the stairs, yawning, and looking around. "Natsu? Where's all the decorations? And who are you talking to." Natsu frowned, looking around.

"I… I'm talking to Zeref." Igneel's face saddened at that and he knelt beside Natsu.

"Listen, honey… I don't think… I don't think he's coming back."

"What do you mean?" Natsu's breath caught in his throat. "He will. Santa said so!"  
"Santa?" Igneel shook his head. "Natsu, sometimes people leave."

"But Santa said he loved me." Natsu's eyes filled with tears.

"He does, he does." Igneel assured. "But sometimes love isn't enough… to make people stay. Now, where did you hide the decorations?" Natsu frowned, finally noticing how barren the house was.

"I didn't do it." Natsu said.

"Well, I didn't do it…" Igneel told him. "Let's check outside." He grabbed Natsu's hand and the two of them went outside, searching. But then they heard a few wails from other houses and a bucket load of confusion amongst everyone. They were all frowning, looking around. "Hey, what're you looking for?" his father asked Lucy's dad.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried running up to him, hugging him.

"What is it?" Natsu asked.

"Haven't you heard! Nobody got any presents!" she exclaimed. Natsu frowned. That wasn't right. Not everyone in the village could've been bad, right? Natsu didn't think he'd been bad, and Lucy definitely hadn't been bad and neither had Erza! Maybe Gray had… but that was it!  
"What do you think happened?" Igneel whispered to Jude who shrugged.

"Who knows?"

The four of them sighed. "Come on." Igneel said holding out his hand, let's go.

"Where?"

"To the square, you know we always sing together on Christmas morning."

"But there's no tree." Lucy said.

"We don't need a tree to be able to sing, do we?" Jude asked his daughter.

"No." Lucy said, shaking her head and then giggled.

* * *

Zeref watched as they all gathered in the village square and grabbed each other's hands. Zeref rolled his eyes and stood, not wanting to see how sickeningly sweet they all were being. Then, he heard singing, like he did every Christmas. This sound, made him freeze. What? Why were they singing? What did they possibly have to sing about? Zeref frowned, turning around again, his eyes narrowed at the tiny village. "What is this?" he grumbled to himself.

Hearing the voices melding together, but it wasn't just the voices, it was the words they spoke. Of family and love. Zeref, on that mountain, felt colder than he ever had in his entire life. He glanced at the presents next to him and realized that perhaps it was his fault that he was not happy. He had run away from everything instead of facing it head on. And just because he was not happy did not mean he had to make others miserable as well.

"Come on Mavis… let's give these back." Zeref spoke and climbed back in the sleigh. Mavis hopped in the cart next to him, wagging her tail. "Come on Zera, hya!" Zeref flicked the reins and Zera got moving, racing down the mountains once more.

From town, something caught the corner of Natsu's eye. He turned and tugged on his father's sleeve. Igneel looked up and there, riding down the mountain was Santa, with all the presents. "Look! Santa repaired them!" Natsu said excitedly, pointing. Igneel was not quite so overjoyed and glared at the figure.

"That's not Santa." Igneel said. "That's your brother." Natsu was confused but not disappointed. People got out of the way of the moving sled, breaking the circle and making way for it.

Finally, the thing came to a halt and Zeref slowly climbed out of it. People started whispering, probably bad things, though Zeref wasn't sure. He gulped, "H-hey." He said quietly. Nobody answered and someone coughed just to emphasize how dry this was.

Zeref took a deep breath and said, "I'm the one who did this… I took all the presents.

People gasp and Natsu's father looked angrier than Natsu had ever seen him.

"Zeref!" he barked. "Get down here." Zeref stood at the foot of the sleigh for a while before complying. He walked over to his father and stood in front of him, expecting to get smacked. That had never happened before, but what he'd just done certainly warranted one. Igneel placed his hands firmly on his sons' shoulders and told the crowd they were going home.

Then they did, Natsu holding Zeref's hand. Natsu didn't care what their father said or if he demanded Zeref leave and never come back. Natsu wasn't losing his brother again, not ever.

They got home and Igneel asked, "What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't." Zeref answered guiltily, staring at his feet.

"I bet you weren't." Igneel growled. "You've broken and entered, stolen many things from many people, I don't even…" Igneel ran his hand through his hair and turned to his son who was barely holding back tears. "I'm terribly disappointed in you." Igneel said. All Zeref did was nod. Then, "I can't believe you would do those things! Just what have you been doing all this time! Just what did you hope to accomplish by leaving us!"

"Because I couldn't take it! You know it was my fault she's gone, if I had done something she'd be here! That's not all either! Nobody here liked me, they all thought I was weird or unlucky or something! And you were the worst! I felt like I couldn't talk to you, and I knew you liked Natsu better than me and I just had to get out!" he cried, a few tears slipping.

Then Natsu started crying too, because his brother was. Igneel sighed, "Oh, Natsu, no need to cry." Igneel gently patted his youngest son on the head. Then, Igneel wrapped an arm around his eldest and said, "The important thing is that you returned what you stole." Igneel said quietly, "and that you know what you did was wrong." Zeref sniffed and, glanced up at him.

Zeref hugged his father, tight as he could, not having seen him in a year, and now to finally be here… "Your freezing." Igneel commented hugging his son back with equal force. "It's alright now. We're all together again."

Natsu nodded. He'd gotten his present in a rather unconventional way, but he didn't care. He was just glad he had his brother back again, and glad that Gray had been wrong. "However, I believe apologies, many, will be in order… I can only hope no one decides to charge you." Igneel frowned at that thought.

Zeref nodded, though that was unlikely since none of the villagers liked him much.

"I'm sorry." Zeref said quietly after Natsu had bounded outside to tell all his friends the good news. Igneel nodded, squeezing his shoulder,

"I know."

"He's back!" Natsu cried. "I told you guys! I told you! I told you!" Natsu laughed with excitement he was so giddy. Lucy smiled slightly,

"I'm glad he came back though… it's a little awkward."

"You can say that again." Erza said. "But I too, am happy for you." They all turned to Gray who simply nodded. They didn't know what that meant but they thought Gray was happy for him too.

Natsu's friends all knew Zeref rather well since he babysat a lot when all their parents wanted to go out together. And he'd been a good babysitter, quiet, withdrawn maybe, but good, and they'd all liked him. But none of them had ever thought he'd try to… what, steal Christmas?

"You kids gonna stand in the cold all day or what?" Igneel asked, poking his head through the door. The kids all looked at each other and decided to go inside while everyone else had boring adult-discussions.

So, they all went inside while Igneel closed the door and walked toward everyone else in the village. They were quietly discussing amongst themselves. "He's a demon that one, I know it." One whispered.

"Hey, whoever just called my son a demon, come and face me or keep your mouth to yourself." Igneel growled.

"I was talking about the elder one, not younger." The voice elaborated.

"So?" Igneel's brows furrowed. He must've acted like he favored one over the other if even the villagers realized. Perhaps Zeref hadn't just been acting sensitive…

Regardless, the voice did not answer again. "So, are you all going to press charges or what? Are you all going to head over to the police station in the next town?"

The town's folks whispered amongst themselves and what Igneel wanted to do was yell at them to give him an answer, but that would not endear himself to them. Finally, Makarov stepped forward (he was the oldest one in the village and usually spoke on behalf of everyone else.) "While we love you and Natsu, Zeref abandoned us a year ago, and left the two of you to mourn on your own. Why try to save him now?"

"What is wrong with you people? How is that even a question. Every single parent out there knows that they would try to save their child no matter what they did to you. He came from my wife, he looks like her, speaks like her, acts like her! He is my child and I would do anything to protect him! Anything!"

"I would do that for my daughter." Jude added quietly, Eileen nodded.

"I would do it for mine as well."

"I would do it for my nephew." Ur said, and many other parents and grandparents started to agree at this statement.

"Then I guess we won't be going to the police station and no one ever has to know."

They all nodded.

* * *

Natsu sat on his brother's lap, telling him, "They'll forgive you, I know it." Zeref nodded, a small smile on his face.

"I hope so…"

"Come on guys, tell him they will!" Natsu exclaimed.

Lucy smiled encouragingly, "It won't be bad." She said to which Natsu frowned.

"I said tell him it'll be good! Not that it won't be bad!" he cried. Lucy shrugged, she didn't want to lie.

"Your right Natsu." Zeref said quickly. "Everything will be fine." a few minutes later, Igneel came in, carrying Mavis, and as soon as she saw him, bit Igneel, because apparently he didn't put her down fast enough.

"Ow! Stupid dog!" Igneel growled, shaking his hand. Mavis padded up to him and laid down by Zeref's feet, because his lap was free no longer. Zeref thought she might've glared at him for that but she was a dog so…

"They're not going to the police station." Igneel said when Zeref looked at him with questioning eyes.

"Yay!" Natsu shouted and gave his friends the, "I told you so," look. He smiled and said,

"Thanks… for being here." Igneel shrugged.

"Whatever," he grumbled. "Come on, we're going to help put all the decorations back up before the feast tonight." Zeref nodded and the two went outside, leaving the four children.

"So, Natsu, I was wondering, did you get you Christmas present?" Lucy asked.

Natsu grinned happily, "Yep, and then some!" he said excitedly. "Mom would've loved it if she were here."

Lucy wrapped an arm around his shoulder and smiled, "She sure would've."

Then they went outside to help everyone, all together, on Christmas Day.

THE END!

* * *

 **A/N It's finished! Yay! I'm so excited, this took soooo long for only 5 chapters to show. If you liked this please review/follow/favorite, It'd make me soooo happy! Thanks everyone who has read this story, your support makes me soooo happy! Thanks for reading this holiday special and I'm glad to say this book is done. I'll see you later, bye!**


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